THE KNOWLEDGE MEDIA INSTITUTE

History of Flight

Key events

Flights of fancy

Models

Aerodynamics

How planes fly

Historical development

Aero-engines

Flyers

Cayley

Lilienthal

Phillips

The Wright Brothers

Santos-Dumont

Cody

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Key Events

1783 Montgolfier Brothers carry out the first free flight of a hot air balloon across Paris.


1804 George Cayley develops a model glider with fixed main wing and moveable tail surfaces.


1853 George Cayley's 'New Flyer' takes his footman across Brompton Dale in the first man-carrying glider.


1874 Felix du Temple carrys out the first piloted powered 'hop', after first running down a ramp.


1890 Clement Ader's Eole is the first piloted aeroplane to take off under its own power, for a brief uncontrolled hop.


1893 Otto Lilienthal makes the first true controlled flights, gliding up to 230m.


1903 Wright Brothers achieve sustained controlled powered flight at Kitty Hawk.